Yarn humidifier



Dec. 26, 1933. F. 1 HEJDUK ET AL 1,941,087

YARN HUMIDIFIER Filed March 28, 1952 Z0 ZZ Z] ATTORNEY.

Patented Dec. 26, 1933 PATENTQFFICE:

YARN HUMIDIFIER Frank J. nej'duk and Harry S'arjert,` Philadel-k phia, Pa.. j

' v Applieaaon March 2s, 1932. serial No. 601,554l

2 Claims.v (o1. 28-5'8),

The present invention relates to the conditioning of yarn for knitting and other purposes and more particularly to an apparatus for heating, humidifying, and maintaining silk in the form of cones in alproper' moistened condition ready for use.

In the fabrication of wearing apparel and other goods and particularly by the processor knitting it is essential that the twist of the yarn threads not only be maintained while feeding to the l knitting machine but also all such threads should be uniform as 'to moisture. Failure to deliver properly twisted threads wd properly moistened threads results in noticeable variations in the fabric and such variations become so apparent after dyeing of the fabric as to render the fabric defective and cause it to be thrown away ortreated as seconds. As one means of moistening yarns and attempting to keep them in conditionnfor deliveryto a knitting machine, it has been proposed to utilize moistening boxes containing water andin which boxes the cones of yarn are placed I andthe respective threads from this yarn then led directly to the knitting machine. In the case of a full fashionedmachine, due to its extreme length, it has been vfound necessary in order kto obtain any practical results to equip such' a machine with eight or ten of 'these boxes strung yalong the length of themachine and each box 'serving to supply one unit of the machine. Such boxes are wellillustrated inthe patent to Amon, No. 1,760,032, and to a certain extent serve to maintain the cone yarns in a humidiiiedV atmosphere. One of the difficulties with moistening boxes of this type is that the water in the supply reservoirs, which are relatively shallow, evaporates quickly and unless constantly watched soon becomes empty of water and yarnrmore or less dry isjfed from the box and into the fabric before the failure of the moisture supply is noticed'. Also Veach box is generally filled with a supply of cones to last for a day'or more and it therefore becomes extremely diicult 'to keep track of the number of'yarn cones distributed to the knitters and the loss due to misplaced. and appropriated cones is avery seriousy factor. Also equipping the full fashioned machine with the number of boxes required makes them a very costly accessory to a knitting machine. f

Some'othe objects of the present invention are to provide an improved apparatus for condi-l tioning cones of yarn for use in knitting vor like fabric forming mechanisms; to provide an `apparatus which in use makes itunnecessary to employ l separate moistening boxes at each machine where the knitting operation is carried out; toV provide a storage cabinet for cones of yarn wherein provision is made for 'storing a large number of cones; subjecting such cones to anatmosphere so treated that all cones are maintained in a uniform condition as to temperature and moisture; topro'- vide a storage 'cabinet for conditioning cones of yarn which will serve as a dispensing means from which cones are removed and given to a knitter only when the machine is ready for a particular cone and this construction permits each coneto be checked and its whereabouts known at any particular moment; to provide a conditioning apparatus which is relatively inexpensive and which as one unitis capable of serving and supplying 70 a large number of knitting machines, even though such machines be of the full fashionedV type; to provide a novelmeans for supplying a heated vapor to a'receptacle wherein a plurality of cones -of yarn are arranged'andexposed equally inwall 75 'is made Afor vreadyaccess to all cones mounted therein; and to provide other improvements as will hereinafter appear. 1

f In the accompanyingidr'awing Fig. 1 represents a sectional elevationl of a yarn conditioningapparat-us `embodying one-form of the present invention, the section' being taken on line 1-'1` of Fig. 2; Fig. 2 represents a section`on'line2-2 90 of Fig." 1; fandFiggB'represents a detailed section on line 3-f-3vof Fig. 2.

Referring to the drawing onel form of the present invention consists generally of a cabinet l0,A aftank or receptacle r11 for water, a heating 95 element 172, and a spray lunit 13. The cabinet 10 is preferablyjbut not necessarily, formed of sheet metal whichis connected together to provide a bottom 14,a' topV l5, and'tw'o end walls 16 while leaving the-,two opposite'sides open but 100 this instance arranged to' be closed respectively by two pairs of doors 17 and" 18. These doors are hinged respectively at the four cornersof the 3 cabinet 10 as indicated at -20 so that the "doors of eachpair swing toward the middle ofthe side and can be interlocl'redl by lsutable'latch members according to requirements.

can be had to the chamber for the full width of the two sides and from top to bottom.

For supporting cones of silk or cones of other material within the cabinet 10 in such a manner that any cone can be conveniently reached and removed, the two end walls 16 removably support respectively two panels 23 each of which has its exposed face studded with elongated pins 24 in such staggered formation as will permit the mounting of a maximum number of yarn cones 25 without interference one with another. Each pin 24 has a threaded end by which it is fastened to its panel by nuts 26 to project from the face thereof preferably at a slight angle-to the face so that the natural tendency of the cones is to stay in supported position. Like pins 27 are mounted upon the inner faces of the doors 17 and 18 in staggered relation and upwardly inclined to give proper supporting position. All of the pins 24 and 27 are preferably covered by protecting sleeves 28 of rubber or other material to directly seat the respective cones. As here shown the inner faces of all the doors are lined with a layer of woodA panelling 30 of tongue and groove construction which is enclosed in a cover housing 31 to which the pins 27 are attached by a thread and nuts 32. y

For the purpose of providing a supply of moisture inside of the cabinet l0, the tank 11 is provided and in the preferred form this is in the shape of a shallow rectangular receptacle xedly attached to one stationary wall ofthe cabinet and extending well across the central portion of the chamber formed by the cabinet.V This tank is arranged to be lled'with water as its contents become depleted and this is easily accomplished by opening a door at one side or other of the cabinet and pouring the new supply of water into theftank 11.: This waterlis arranged to be converted into a fine spray, or mist, or vapor, by means of a suitable unit 13 which as here shown is in the form of aV rotatable plate 33 having its outer periphery adjacent a circumferentially arranged row Lof closely spaced bailies V34 forming betweenthem a plurality of fine discharge apertures to which the water is drawn bythe centrifugalaction of the rotating plate. A strainer 35 is attached to the bottom of the unit 13 and is normally submerged in the water in the tank 11 so thatfthe action of the electrically operated rotary pump 36 is to draw the water vertically upward and dischargeit upon the rotating plate .33. The pump motor receives its current from a suitable source by `wayl of conductors 37 extending into the cabinet at-a'convenient location.

Preferably an annular casing 51 encircles the periphery of the bailies 34 and as this casing is open at its upper end, it serves todirect the discharging mistor vaporupwardly into the cabinet'10. This casing' 51 is provided with a plurality of Y discharge,l openings 52, which are circumerentially arranged and-laterally disposed so that some of the discharging vapor can pass radially outward to insure the bottom of the supporting cones being moistened to the same degree as are the tops of these cones by the return spray from the upwardly discharged mist. In order to regulate Ythe amount of water which exists by way of the outlets 52, an encircling band .53 is arranged to be secured to the casing V51 and l by moving this axially along the casing the area of the discharge openings 52 can be regulated This band53 is of circular form having its meeting endsconnected by an adjusting bolt 54, or like device, by which the band 53 can be tightened in place upon the casing or loosened to change its regulating position. As here shown the band 53 is in such a position that all of the openings 52 are entirely uncovered but as already pointed out a loosening of the clamping means 54 will enable the band 53 to be moved relative to the casing 51 and fix it in a new position toY reduce the amount of water vapor discharged therethrough.

In order tc maintain the water at an eiiicient and desired temperature for treating the silk upon the cones 25, the heating element 12 is xedly mounted through a side wall of the cabinet and a side of the tank 11, so that the heating bar is submerged within the supply of water in the tank 11. Current is led to the bar 12 by the conductors 38 from a suitable source and it will be understood that the degree of heat delivered to the bar l2 is thermostatically regulated so as to maintain a substantially constant temperature of the water.

@ne feature of the present invention is the provisionvof a storage space for cones of silk which have been subjected to the conditioning treatment within the cabinet and to that end the cabinet 10 is provided with a supplemental casing 40 which is attached to the top l5 and forms an upper extension of the cabinet while preserving the symmetrical appearance of the whole assembly. This casing 40 forms a chamber 4l which as here shown is subdivided by two parallel horizontal partitions 42 and 43 each of which is formed with perforations 44 to allow circulation of moist air within the compartment 4l and about the cones 25 which are placed therein for storage until used. The ends of the casing 40 are provided with openings 45 which c-ommunicatc respectively with air passages 46 formed by outwardly diverging conduits-47 which extend below the upper portion of the chamber formed by the casing 10 and below apertures 48 through the end walls of the casing 10 in -order to provide means of communication between the interior of the casing 10 and the passages 46. l by providing the sides thereof with slidable doors 49. Thus since the heated vapor. rises within the casing 10, it can nd its way laterally through the apertures 48 and thence upwardly through the passages 46 into `the chamber 41V to'circulate .about the storage cones and maintainkthem' in of two inverted trays which nt snugly within the casing 41 adjacent to the bottom thereof Aand are thus made removable so that the casing can 1 be readily cleaned when necessary. Alscthe top l5 of the cabinet 1G has a drainroutlet 55 which vallows any collected moisture to run back into the main. treating chamber.

It will now be apparent that a complete uni- "l tary conditioning cabinet has been provided for the treating and storage of cones of silk, or any other yarn, or threads, which is so arranged and constructed as to support a large number of articles, all of which are so distributed as to be subjected to a uniform treatment by the conditioned air inthe chamber. AThis air is maintained in a predetermined heated and moistened Y state such that the cones of silkare not deleteri- Access to the compartment 41 is had 120 ously affected by too much saturation and that saturation to which each is subjected is not only uniform about the entire area of the cones, but is of that degree necessary to give the best results from the treated yarn. Furthermore it will be seen that the treated air in the cabinet 10 can rise and circulate into an upper storage compartment in which previously treated yarns are placed for future use so that these can be maintained in the same condition as when taken from the main treating chamber. While thedevice of the present invention is generally located in one place convenient to access by the knitters and may be considered as a xed treating cabinet, it is here shown provided with supporting Wheels 56 Which make it relatively easy to Wheel from one room to another or from one storage place to another. Y

While only a single form is shown in which this invention may be embodied, it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to any specific construction, but might be applied to various forms without departing from the spirit of the invention or the scope of the appended claims. n

Having thus described our invention, we claim: 1. A self-contained yarn treating apparatus comprising a cabinet mounted on rollers for Wheeling from one place to another, an open top receptacle mounted Within said cabinet for` holding a supply of Water, a pump'having an inlet located in said Water and an outlet arranged substantially centrally of the interior of said cabinet, means associated with said outlet for converting the discharged Water into a mist, a heater element submerged Within the Water in said .receptacle for maintaining a predetermined temperature of said water, means to gain'access to the interi-or of said cabinet, and supports for yarn cones encircling thespace into which said mist is discharged from said pump.

2. A self-contained yarn treating apparatus comprising a cabinet mounted on rollers for Wheeling from one place to another, an open top receptacle mounted Within said cabinet for holding asupply of water, a pump having an inlet located in said Water and an outlet arranged substantially centrally of inet, means associated with said outlet for converting the discharged Water into a mist, a heater element submerged Within the water in said receptacle for maintaining a predetermined temperature of said Water, means to gain 'access to the interiorof saidkcabinet, supports for yarn cones encircling the space into which said mist is discharged from said pump, and a cone storage compartment provided in the upper portion of said cabinet and communicating with the spray chamber of said cabinet.

FRANK J. I-IEJDUK. HARRY SARFERT.

the interior of said cab- 

